The present invention relates to a lockable electrical connector.
In a lockable electrical connector as produced at present, the locking device is created by having an internally threaded pin on the male connector half and a threaded bolt on the female connector half which is surrounded by a pin-receiving sleeve. The bolt is threaded into the internally-threaded pin. This enables the male and female connector halves to be reliably connected together after they have been plugged together.
With the ever-increasing reduction in the overall size of such lockable electrical connectors, the amount of space available for locking measures also becomes smaller and smaller, so that such locking systems by means of threaded parts become more impractical, especially as a tool generally has to be used in order to operate them. Particularly, also, in the case of connectors which are provided with an oblique cable exit on one side or both sides, the use of such a screwable locking device is extremely difficult, if not impossible.
It is, therefore, the purpose of the present invention to provide a reliable, rapid, and simple way of locking the connector halves together and unlocking them to separate them even in restricted and difficult handling conditions.